Loss Tells Lady Horn Coach More Diverse Attack Needed

Although close, hard-fought defeats are often tough to absorb, Lady Longhorn coach Arnold Stonebrink views a 3-2 loss to Florence as a possible team builder.

"The loss should provide some benefit, as long as we learn from it," the coach said. "The match exposed the fact that we need a more diversified attack; that we can't rely on Jenna (Robertson) having an outstanding hitting game every night."

Tom Brossart/Roundup

Lady Longhorn Jenna Robertson (6) goes up for a block.

Also the loss to Florence, which occurred Aug. 28 on the road, might have resulted in some strategy changes down the schedule road.

"We need to be aware of the opponent's tendencies and make adjustments early to counter those tendencies," Stonebrink said.

The coach also learned from the match that the Lady Longhorns' serving is suspect. The team has a goal of making good on 85 percent of its serves, but in the defeat, the squad hit only 82 percent.

The answer to improving the Lady Horns' serving attack might be to show more patience.

"Slowing down and taking time on the serve, to better ensure a good toss and hit, will improve our percentage and ultimately, our serving efficiency," he said.

Stonebrink was unsure why the team members were hastening their serves, but reasoned it could have been nervousness or fatigue.

"They seemed to rush their serves, instead of slowing down, and doing a nice, steady routine like a golfer or free-throw shooter does before each shot," Stonebrink said.

The games

In the non-region match, Payson dropped the first two games, 25-20 and 25-23.

But the Lady Horns came roaring back to win 26-24 and 25-24, which set up an all-important rubber game.

In the crucial fifth and final showdown, the Lady Horns stumbled 15-12.

In the finale, "Florence played smart, efficient ball and Payson made the bulk of the mistakes," Stonebrink said.

"We were being shellacked 14-9, before making a run of three points."

Eventually, however, the Lady Longhorn rally was too little too late, as a Gopher outside hitter ended the match with a vicious spike.

"It's difficult to win when you gift wrap four of your opponent's 15 points in the form of service errors, which is exactly what we did," the coach said.

Stonebrink also called the first two losses frustrating, mostly because mental mistakes cost the team points.

"Florence was serving short, but our girls were not making the adjustment of moving up to better receive the ball," he said. "Once they made that adjustment, their serve receiving became solid and stayed solid the whole night."

Entering the third game, the Lady Longhorns were facing a possible three-game sweep, after falling behind 20-15.

But, like the U.S. Calvary charging to the rescue in 1950s western movies, the Lady Horns rushed back into contention.